Skylanders Collection Vault | Finding Magic
Overview
The critically acclaimed Skylanders franchise was a global phenomenon, but even with spinoffs, sequels and endless merchandise, kids had no way to interact with the characters they purchased when away from their video game consoles.
A mobile app was the obvious answer to portability, but without a direct connection to game experience, and users’ unique profile data, housing characters in an app translated to little more than digital trading cards. The challenge was to create an experience that captured the magic of the game and extend it through storytelling.
Roles: Creative Strategist // Copywriter
Recognition
Gold American Advertising Award (DC ADDY)
What I Did
Strategy
Copywriting
Cultural Immersion
Why It Mattered
This project was well into development when I was brought onto the team and at the time things seemed well in hand. I remember vividly when the CEO of Activision expressed his feeling that the magic was missing – that call sent me deep in to the realm of Skylands. Playing the game and understanding what millions of children lived and breathed helped us add a new element to the experience.
The Skylanders Collection Vault received over 100,000 downloads at launch and nearly two million toys were unlocked worldwide. The app conjured the magic of the game while giving fans an entirely new way to experience the realm of Skylands.
Approach
After getting access to game assets and concept art, the team created a vibrant and engaging app that served as a Skylanders version of a Pokédex, cataloging all the characters by name, species, type, attributes and more. But upon reviewing with the team at Activision, we received some unexpected feedback from the CEO himself - the app was slick and intuitive, but was missing the magic of the game. With more ideation and late night gaming to immerse ourselves in the realm of Skylands and we realized that the technical and functional aspects needed to become invisible for the magic to emerge. To reintroduce play to the experience, we added elements of story, scoring and leveling up so users could continue the adventure away from their consoles and strive to become Portal Masters.
